


Wine And Other Comforts

by pidebird



Series: Nygmobblepot Week 2017 Fics [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 15:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12171627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pidebird/pseuds/pidebird
Summary: After a night of drinking, Edward gets sentimental about Kristen, and Oswald does his best to comfort him.





	Wine And Other Comforts

**Author's Note:**

> Nygmobblepot Week 2017 - Day 6 - Jealousy   
> I apologize, this isn’t very heavy on jealousy, but I wrote most of this in one sitting and this is what I managed to come up with. I hope you enjoy it!

“Hold on, Oswald—!” Edward was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to well up at the corners of his eyes and he struggled to stop for long enough to speak coherently, “Let me go get some more wine.” He had unsteadily stood up from his seat at the kitchen table as he spoke, setting his empty wine glass down while steadying himself with his free hand against the back of the chair, before he turned around to walk towards the fridge.

“Did we really already finish that bottle?” Oswald asked in quick reply, his tone carrying disbelief, though his current mirth nearly overtook it completely as he continued to stifle giggles. He leaned forwards in his chair until he had to hold himself up over the table with his elbows, his eyes slowly dragging themselves away from where Edward was standing, to instead focus on the table. Ed had the day off tomorrow, so the two had taken the opportunity to celebrate their growing friendship, and the two men had been drinking, eating, and talking for the better part of the night. The evidence was cluttering the tabletop in front of him; empty wine bottles and tupperware containers that had once contained leftovers littered the space. As Oswald continued to consider the multiple empty wine bottles, his vision only slightly blurred by his tipsiness, he hesitantly asked, “Do you think we need to slow down?”

“No way!” Edward’s voice was loud as he immediately answered, before he continued in a slightly calmer tone, “I think that’s the last thing we should do.” Oswald laughed in response to his very sure response, leaning back slightly in his chair as he looked back up at Edward. The other man was barely visible as he leaned into the fridge, body mostly concealed by the fridge door while he searched for more wine, and anything else that caught his interest.

“Aha! Here we go, Oswald.” After a few more seconds, Edward suddenly stood upright again, and he swung the fridge door shut with his elbow as he exclaimed and turned to face Oswald again, a jovial grin still taking up his features. He hummed to himself as he made his way back over to the kitchen table, another bottle of wine in one hand and another tupperware container in the other. He seemed unsteady on his feet, though he managed to reach his chair again without incident, and he handed Oswald the tupperware container as he sat down with the wine. Though they were both undoubtedly responsible for emptying the previous bottles, Edward was definitely more buzzed than Oswald was, and it showed in his unsteady movements and with the way his words had began to slur together.

“What’s this?” Oswald asked curiously as he accepted the offered container, his gaze only leaving Edward’s smiling face after a few more seconds, to move downwards towards the tupperware. He wasn’t very wary of whatever it’s contents were, having discovered fairly early on while staying with Edward that the forensics scientist was a very good cook. So far, nothing he ate that Edward had cooked himself had been disappointing, and he doubted that it would ever happen, so he popped the lid off without waiting for an answer. Inside the container was what Oswald’s fuzzy mind eventually recognized to be some sort of chicken dish.

“Some baked chicken I made a couple days ago,” Edward began to explain, his voice becoming slightly strained as he fumbled with the cork remover and the wine bottle, until he finally managed to insert the remover deep enough into the cork that he could yank it back out with an quiet, but audible pop, and he continued in a more triumphant tone, “It’s stuffed with provolone, garlic, and spinach.”

“Oh, thank you, Ed.” Oswald replied sincerely, his tone also carrying his excitement to try the offered food. As he finished speaking, he stood up with the tupperware in hand and walked back over to the kitchen area of the studio apartment, where he placed the uncovered tupperware into the microwave. After a few seconds of consideration while he stared at the buttons on the appliance, he eventually set the timer for two minutes.

“You’re very welcome, Oswald… One more glass for me, and one more glass for you.” Edward replied happily, before he continued in a slightly quieter tone of voice, as he poured a very liberal amount of wine into each of their glasses, taking extra care in every movement so that he wouldn’t accidentally spill the alcohol or knock anything over. Once he was finished with it, Edward sat the bottle down on the table and picked up his now very full glass. As he raised it to his lips, he began to hum a tune to himself, until he made a sudden noise of realization and he quickly swallowed his mouthful of wine so he could speak again. “Do you want to listen to music? I want to listen to music.”

“Why haven’t we been?” Oswald’s answer came immediately and was punctuated with a good natured laugh from where he stood beside the microwave, turning slightly and leaning his hip against the counter so that he could observe Edward take another sip of wine, before setting his glass down and walking over towards the record player. Oswald was surprised that neither of them had noticed the lack of music sooner, considering Edward would usually have something playing by now for background noise. He smiled softly as he watched Edward begin to pick through his record collection for something to listen to. After a few seconds of shamelessly staring, which he presumed was thanks to the wine, the microwave timer went off and Oswald’s attention was pulled back to the food.

When Oswald pulled the chicken out of the microwave, fortunately managing to avoid burning his fingers on the hotter parts of the tupperware, he was immediately made aware of how good it smelled. As he began to search for a fork, having to open up a few drawers before he actually found the correct one storing all of the utensils, he heard the pleasant pop and crackle of the record player as a quiet, jazzy tune began to play, letting him know that Edward had found something to listen to. The song was slow but it was upbeat, and as the singer began to sing, Oswald understood that it was a love song. He usually didn’t have a lot of time to listen to music, and he was pretty certain that he didn’t recognize the song, but it was nice enough to listen to. He swayed slightly along with the music as he used his fork to cut and then pick up a piece of the chicken, taking a moment to blow on it, before he put it into his mouth.

“Wow, this is really great, Ed.” Oswald swallowed the bite of food quickly before he spoke, trying despite his wine buzz to not talk with his mouth full. Almost immediately after his sincere compliment, he cut himself another bite and he took a few seconds longer to chew and swallow it, savouring the delicious flavour of the food. The chicken was seasoned well, he thought he could taste some paprika, and the provolone tasted great with it. He hummed to himself as he continued to quickly eat, though he forced himself to stop after he realized Edward hadn’t responded to his earlier comment. “Ed?”

Oswald turned on his heel to look around the apartment, still loosely holding the fork in one of his hands, and his eyes eventually landed on Edward, who was sitting on the couch towards the other side of the room beside the record player. Edward was sitting silently, facing partially away from him, but from the way he was seated, Oswald could tell that there was obviously something wrong. After a moment of quietly looking at him, the soft jazz music the only discernible noise in the apartment, Oswald turned to place his fork back into the tupperware before he walked over towards the couch, the idea of finishing his food completely leaving his mind and instead being replaced with making sure Edward was alright.

“Ed, what’s wrong?” Oswald asked as he approached the couch, his concern for his friend’s well-being clear in the tone of his voice. Edward seemed to be lost in thought, his brows pulled together and lips in a tight frown, but as Oswald spoke to him again, his expression softened and he looked up at him. Edward’s hand moved over to the couch cushion right beside him and he patted it a few times, inviting Oswald to sit down with him, which Oswald immediately complied to.

“Sorry, Oswald,” Edward started, his words slightly unsteady from the wine and his tone holding an edge of sadness, though he smiled softly as he continued with a brief laugh, “I suppose I got a little sentimental. Kristen really loved this record.” He looked at Oswald for another second as he stopped talking, before he turned his head to look at his hands, upturned in his lap.

“Don’t apologize for that, Ed. As you’ve seen with me, everyone mourns sometimes.” Oswald responded quickly, his tone sincere as he reassured Edward. He knew now, better than he ever had before, just how true that was, after the loss of his mother. Before he could dwell on that thought for too long, though, Oswald hesitantly reached his hand upwards to rest on Edward’s shoulder. “I’m sure that Kristen would appreciate the sentiment if she were here. From what I’ve heard, you were a very doting boyfriend.”

“Yeah, besides the… Murder, I tried my best to make her happy.” Edward put extra emphasis in his words, and he leaned slightly into Oswald’s touch as he spoke. Oswald grinned at him, under the impression that Edward wasn’t quite as down as he had been with the exchanged words, until Edward shifted further down the couch and then promptly fell back, angling himself so that his legs were propped up over the arm of the couch and so his head landed directly onto Oswald’s lap, before he continued with an anguished sigh. “I loved her so much.”

Oswald jumped slightly in surprise, Edward’s sudden actions completely catching him off guard. His hands hovered above Edward, as the forensics investigator shifted a little bit more in order to get more comfortable on the couch while looking up at Oswald with a somber expression. They maintained silent eye contact for a few seconds longer, and Oswald noticed tears had formed in Edward’s eyes and his face was flushed, and it made his chest tighten uncomfortably. Finally, Oswald slowly let his hands fall, one landing on the couch cushion beside them and the other gently resting in Edward’s hair.

“Ed, please don’t cry. Like you said to me, love is our weakness—and even though you miss Kristen her death allowed you to be free.” Oswald spoke quickly as he tried to come up with something to make Edward feel better. Once he had finished talking, Oswald smiled softly down at his friend, his fingers absentmindedly running through Edward’s soft hair. With everything that Edward had done for him in the time that he had been staying with him since his mother died, it made Oswald feel awful to see him so down, and he wanted nothing more than to make him happy again.

“You’re right, I’m sorry Oswald. Thank you for being here for me.” Edward prefaced his slightly slurred words with another sigh, and he moved his hands up to his own face so he could slip his glasses upwards and thoroughly wipe his eyes. When he removed his hands from his face again, folding them neatly atop his stomach, he returned Oswald’s smile. He thankfully seemed to be in higher spirits, but his cheeks kept their flushed hue and Oswald assumed that the wine was largely to blame for that.

“You definitely do not need to apologize, Ed. It’s the least I can do to even begin to repay you for how supportive you have been for me over this last week.” Oswald hummed briefly, his tone full of sincerity as he replied to Edward, who smiled up at him gratefully, all while his fingers continued to comfortingly bury themselves into the other man’s hair. Oswald looked down at Edward for a few moment longer, his thoughts racing as he considered what to say next, before he diverted his eyes upwards to stare blankly off towards the kitchen. It felt really good to have Edward thankful for him, instead of moping over Kristen. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was so envious of the dead woman whenever Edward brought her up, but the wine was giving him enough confidence to say something about it. “Ed, can I tell you something honestly?”

“Of course, Oswald.” Edward’s tone was soft as he answered and he trailed off slightly towards the end, but there was still a clear sincerity to it. The corners of Oswald’s lips twitched slightly as he forced himself to not look back down at his friend lying in his lap, and he took a few more seconds to sort out what exactly he wanted to put across.

“My whole life, the only person who was always there for me, who would love me unconditionally no matter what I did, was my mother. She was my whole world, and I swore that I would always do everything in my power to keep her safe. When she died, a part of myself died as well. I know now that it was only a piece of me, but at the time I was sure that I wasn’t going to be able to continue living without her. ” Oswald exhaled sadly through his nose as memories of his mother came flooding to his mind, causing him to stop talking as he struggled to not get too emotional. A few moments later, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat and continued to speak, his lips involuntarily pulling into a smile as he got to the point. “Ed, you’re the first person to ever make me feel nearly as safe and happy as she did.”

Oswald’s face felt considerably warm, and he could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest, both things that he had only took the time to notice once he had finished speaking, and now that the looming quiet had fallen over them. The only other noise was the jazz record, now playing a different song that happened to be just as pleasant as the first, though Oswald couldn’t appreciate it because of how nervous he was. His fingers curled slightly as the seconds passed without Edward saying anything in response, and Oswald felt a wave of regret and embarrassment wash over him, sure that he had said something wrong. After a few more seconds, just before Oswald was going to apologize, he noticed another, very subtle, noise.

He was caught off guard by the sound of soft snoring, and he instinctively looked down at his lap. In his wine drunk state, Edward had somehow managed to fall asleep right there, with his head resting snuggly atop Oswald’s lap. That explained why Edward hadn’t responded to Oswald’s confession, and he decided that it was far better that Edward hadn’t even heard it, instead of him being upset or put off by it. It had felt nice to say it out loud, and to help himself further realize just how Edward made him feel, but it also made him nervous because he’d never really felt this way about anyone. Not only did Edward make him feel secure, but Oswald felt the need to make Edward feel just as safe. It was a foreign feeling, considering the only other person he’d ever felt similarly about was his mother, and he was nervous to say it again once Edward was awake, and sober. For now, Oswald decided that it would probably be safer to keep his feelings to himself. Alcohol made people do stupid things, so maybe all of this had just been the wine making him feel emotional.

After a few seconds, his attention was pulled from his thoughts and back to reality as he realized he was still idly petting Edward’s hair, when the man shifted in his lap and he snuggled closer to Oswald. Edward continued to snore softly, his hair messy from how much Oswald had been playing with it, and his glasses pushed slightly askew as he slept soundly. Oswald considered what to do, and whether or not he should try to move him, but he looked so tired that he didn’t really want to wake him back up. After a few minutes of just watching Edward and softly carding his fingers through his hair, Oswald finally decided that he should attempt to move.

Oswald used his hands to try to slowly lift Edward, one arm sliding under his upper back and the other under the back of his head, until he could slowly slide out from under him and off of the couch. It was sort of tricky, considering Oswald wasn’t exactly the strongest, but after a few moments of very slow movements, he succeeded. Now that he was off of the couch, he walked over to the closet by the bathroom and retrieved one of the spare blankets Edward had, so that he could gently drape it over him once he returned to the couch again. As an afterthought, Oswald figured that it would be a good idea to take off Edward’s glasses so that he wouldn’t accidentally break them while he slept, and he placed them neatly on the coffee table. Now that Edward was comfortable, Oswald decided he might as well try to sleep too, and after turning off the record player and a few of the lights, he made his way over to the bed, where he quickly climbed under the covers. As he began to grow drowsy and drift closer to sleeping, he tried not to think too hard about how he felt about Edward Nygma.


End file.
